ATP Finals: David Goffin and his trick to victory

Quite a few had expected David Goffin to be annoyed with Roger Federer shortly before the extravagance. But the Belgian had a clever trick up his sleeve.

By Florian Goosmann from London

It was already interesting to see what plan David Goffin would come up with around the corner. It had previously set six defeats against Roger Federer, only two sets were left to him, and one always had the impression that Goffin was playing into his role model’s hands: Federer was able to do everything he could better.

When Goffin finally made the seemingly impossible possible on Saturday afternoon and was asked directly after the end of the match what he had changed in comparison to previous games, he said:”I don’t know at the moment. I was nervous at the beginning but felt the ball well from the second set. The backhand and the serve were there, which helped me a lot in the end.”

It then became more concrete. The key was to play fast, from left to right, from right to left,”I served a lot on his backhand and then played on the other side,”said Goffin,”I was very aggressive and came to the net. And when you see me on the net, it’s good”, he added and grinned.

What went better at Goffin than in the previous matches was clear to Federer:”He played better. That was a good plan,”he replied. In general, the Swiss player was hardly surprised about Goffin’s level:”I know how strong he can play, I have often experienced this level in practice. I know he can raise his level, especially on the return. And when he starts to feel the ball, it is like all baseline players – then it becomes tricky. If you can’t get out of there, if you can’t counter power, it’s hard because he’s very fast.”

Nevertheless, playing well is one thing, playing well is another, playing a match at home is another. When Goffin was supposed to serve at the score of 2:6,6:3,5:4, to the first semi-final at the World Cup, to the first victory against Federer, many expected a few nerves at the Belgian. Goffin’s answer: two aces, two aggressive points – and please.

Mental training back and forth: Goffin found his own way to relaxation in the 90 seconds before the last game,”It was good to see the screen,”he explained. I was more relaxed and didn’t think about the first point or the whole game,” he looked at the highlights of the previous game instead,”It relaxed me.” When the referee called out “Time” he was ready,”I just didn’t think about what I had to do. Then I served an ace – and if you start the game with an ace, it’s always better.”